SAM Allardyce has warned football’s chiefs ‘our stars face burn-out’ after claiming the game’s greed culture is demanding too much from the players.

As Fabio Capello’s under-fire England squad face Slovenia this afternoon with their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, the Rovers boss fears the ever-increasing strain on our top-flight players will destroy any hopes of ultimate glory.

Wayne Rooney & co have so far failed to deliver on football’s biggest stage leaving them needing a win today to ensure progress into the second round – with Allardyce insisting the mental and physical pressure on modern day players is greater than ever.

The Rovers boss admits he hasn’t been surprised by a disappointing start in general to South Africa 2010 and believes many of the Premier League’s top stars are ‘too tired’ to produce their best.

Allardyce has accused football’s governing bodies of failing to look after the welfare of Premier League players but, with money ruling the game more than ever before, he admits finding time to allow them a rest has become increasingly difficult.

He said: “Most of the players who play in the Premier League will be very, very fatigued. There is no doubt about that.

"At the end of the day you had Wayne Rooney saying for the first time he could do with a break at Christmas.

“This is a man who loves to play football no matter how many times you ask him to play but all of a sudden he is saying ‘I am feeling tired I am feeling the strain’.

“The amount of pressure he is put in, physically and mentally especially. People have to understand when they are running this game at the top level they have to understand what players are being put through.

“The trouble is the money over-rides the welfare of the player. So until the player accepts to take less then there could be somewhere you could find a break.

“But because the top clubs are striving to find more money to keep the player you are in this vicious circle. You can understand both parties but we wouldn’t ask a race horse to do what we ask a top player to do.”

While England go into today’s clash in real danger of a shock early exit, a host of other Premier League players have struggled to make their impact at the World Cup so far.

Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas has only just returned from a battle against injury to play a part for Spain, while Chelsea’s Michael Essien has missed Ghana’s campaign, with not only the home-grown players suffering after an arduous Premier League season.

“It would be deemed as cruelty if they were animals,” Allardyce said.

“That is a fact. Never mind all your old players and pundits, your Hansens and Lawrensons, talking about when they used to do it because they are talking drivel.

"They don’t know what they are talking about.

“The players today compete at the highest level and their physical and mental output is unbelievable.

"The lads are faced with a massive problem in terms of fatigue.

“I said before they went, how Fabio Capello handles the training programme will be the key to how they do.

"If that training programme has been about training all the time then I think we are going to struggle in the end.”

Allardyce flew out to South Africa on Friday though and is confident the World Cup will only get better - although he has become the latest to join in the criticisms of the ‘Jabulani ball’.

He said: “The ball is dreadful. You will see why at the end of the World Cup because you will get fewer free kicks scored at the end because they made it too light.

“They have made the sweet spot far too small and if you know about sweet spots the bigger the sweet spot the more accuracy you achieve.”